Saturday, March 17, 2007

There's a great interview at UKSFBookNews with IAMTW member Steve Saville about his nomination for a Scribe Award. Here's a short excerpt:

UKSFBN: Do you think these awards are going to help raise the profile and respectability of tie-in novels and boost sales, or is it more of an intra-industry back-slapping exercise?

SAVILLE: Sorry, I can't help but chuckle at the idea of the awards existing to boost sales when as a general rule of thumb most media tie-ins outsell traditional SF and Fantasy novels quite considerably - and I don't mean one or two thousand more copies, I mean twenty or thirty or fifty thousand copies and often more.

I find it quite interesting, but tie-in writing is often seen as the 'ghetto within the ghetto', which is just absurd when you consider who are actually writing these books. Off the top of my head: Max Allan Collins, Brian Hodge, Christopher Golden, Craig Shaw Gardner, Tom Picirrili, Tim Lebbon, Kevin J Anderson, Keith DeCandido, Eric Nylund, Sean Williams, Terry Brooks, R.A. Salvatore... I mean, these are guys who can write, win those 'traditional back-slapping awards' and more importantly sell from the bookstore shelves.

Thanks to my Warhammer novels I was in a position financially to go full time as a writer two years ago. Whether they want to admit it or not, most genre writers would kill for the sales levels of even average tie-ins. Eric Nylund's recent Halo novel scaled the Giddy Heights of the New York Times Bestsellers list. I remember reading Allan Dean Foster's old media tie-ins and never once did I think of Splinter in the Mind's Eye as disposable fiction; as a young reader it was fantastic.

As a writer, for me, the most important thing is actually being read. The idea of sweating over a novel only read by 200 people is a pretty depressing notion. You want your words to reach as many people as possible.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

The friendly folks over at Bookgasm conducted a terrific interview with IAMTW member GREG COX about writing comic book tie-ins and movie novelizations (most recently, the tie-in for the comic-turned-movie GHOST RIDER). It's a revealing peek into the creative obstacles a tie-in writer often faces:

BOOKGASM: What do you find attractive about writing novelizations? And what’s not-so-attractive?

COX: On the positive side, you get to let someone else worry about the plotting and dialogue for once. It’s also just neat, on a fannish level, to be privy to the inside scoop on some upcoming new movie. The challenge is trying to describe a movie you haven’t actually seen; I’m always desperate for any sort of visual reference material I can get from the studio. Getting photos of the supporting characters tends to be difficult sometimes. The deadlines can be pretty tight, too.

BOOKGASM: When you finally see a film you earlier wrote a novelization for, what’s that experience like?

COX: Usually, it takes a couple of viewings before I can appreciate the movie on its own terms. The first time through, I’m too busy wincing at all the differences between the book and the movie. “Hey, what happened to the barn scene? That chase doesn’t go there. Ohmigod, they changed the dialogue. Wait a second, nobody told me that character was a woman!”

Eventually, though, after enough time has passed, I can start to experience the movie as just another audience member again.

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

The International Association of Media Tie-In Writers is pleased to announce the nominees for the first annual Scribe Awards, honoring excellence in licensed tie-in writing for books published in 2006.

Our first annual GRANDMASTER AWARD, honoring career achievement in the field, will go to DONALD BAIN, author of the MURDER SHE WROTE novels and the ghostwriter behind COFFEE, TEA OR ME and other bestsellers.

The 2007 Scribe awards will be given out at a ceremony in late July at Comic-Con in San Diego. The details on the event, and how to attend, will be announced in the near future. Congratulations to all our nominees!

STAR TREK CRUCIBLE: McCOY – PROVENANCE OF SHADOWS by David R. George IIISTARGATE ATLANTIS: EXOGENESIS by Elizabeth Christensen & Sonny WhitelawTHIRTY DAYS OF NIGHT: RUMORS OF THE UNDEAD by Jeff Mariotte & Steve NilesWARHAMMER: FAITH AND FIRE by James SwallowWARHAMMER: ORC SLAYER by Nathan Long

GENERAL FICTION

BEST NOVEL - ADAPTED

SNAKES ON A PLANE by Christa FaustTHE PINK PANTHER by Max Allan Collins

BEST NOVEL – ORIGINAL

CSI NEW YORK: BLOOD ON THE SUN by Stuart KaminskyLAS VEGAS: HIGH STAKES by Jeff MariotteMR. MONK GOES TO HAWAII by Lee GoldbergOAKDALE CONFIDENTIAL: SECRETS REVEALED by Alina Adams

YOUNG ADULT – ALL GENRES

BEST NOVEL

ALIAS APO: STRATEGIC RESERVE by Christina YorkBUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: PORTAL THROUGH TIME by Alice HendersonDRAGONLANCE: WARRIOR’S HEART by Stephen SullivanKNIGHTS OF THE SILVER DRAGON: PROPHECY OF THE DRAGONS by Matt Forbeck

You can catch me and criminal defense attorney Thomas Mesereau together on the latest episode of INSIDER EXCLUSIVE with Steve Murphy on the web and on a cable station near you. Steve is a congenial interviewer and, although he makes a couple errors (he calls me the "creator and host" of MONK on the "USA Today" network), it was a lot of fun to be a guest and I think you'll enjoy watching. I talk quite a bit about writing the MONK and DIAGNOSIS MURDER tie-ins. I taped as second episode that day, with another criminal defense attorney, and will share that link with you as soon as I get it.

Saturday, March 3, 2007

This is essay was originally posted on IAMTW member Burl Barer's blog:One question I'm often asked -- aside from "where do you get your ideas?" -- is "what's it like to be an author?"That's rather like asking, "what is it like to be you?" Well, I've always been me, so I have nothing to compare with the experience. As for being an author, the big thrill is actually holding the completed, published book in my hand. I will never forget the day my first book was published, and it arrived at my home. On the hardback spine were the words THE SAINT BURL BARER. The full title was on the front, and it is a long title...but seeing THE SAINT BURL BARER on a high quality hardbound book, library binding, fully illustrated was a source of joy and accomplishment for me.

It hasn't changed. I feel that same sense of completion and reward each time I hold my latest book for the first time -- even STEALTH a novelization which I wrote in English but was published only in a Japanese translation.

And even though the publishers send me some promotional copies, I often find the book in the stores before my complimentary copies arrive -- so, I buy one, sit down, and read it.In truth, I can't really read one of my books as if I hadn't written it for at least a year after it comes out -- it is still too fresh in my mind. You know, where I was when I wrote a certain page, or note a paragraph that I agonized over uselessly.

THE SAINT: A Complete History was written in so many cities, on so many different computers, in many different programs: FIRST CHOICE ( dos) LOTUS, WORD PERFECT, MSWORD, RTF, and whatever was available. Hence, each page reminds me of the place I sat, the computer I used, the problems I faced, or the fun I had.

CAPTURE THE SAINT was written in such diverse locales as Burbank, California, Loon Lake, Washington, and mostly at my mother's condo in Seattle, Washington. A former newspaper woman, my mom would proofread each page, and encourage me with treats.

"Give me ten more pages," said Mom, "and I'll give you a bowl of ice cream."

You can listen to a long interview with Raymond Benson, who wrote the James Bond books for many years, and author Robert Goldsborough, who wrote the Nero Wolfe books after Rex Stout passed away. You can find it at:

Go to the middle of the page, find the section called "Writers Webcast with Chris Angelos" and download the link dated February 28, which is the interview. Bob is first, and Raymond comes on. You'll learn a lot about writing and the tie-in biz.